Posts Tagged ‘Awards’

A Company that Cares!!

In: Customer Experience & Support

By: Bill Wright on Oct 07, 2010 at 8:19 am

  Have you ever walked into a business and, after being treated poorly or not to your standards, looked back and said “If I ran that company, this is what I would do”? Or, have you ever worked for a customer that just wouldn’t listen to the employees about what really needs to happen to make the customer’s happy?

  Well, WOW! really does care what is being said. We really do listen to the customer’s requests ,whether they are internal (employees) or external (Consumers). There is a mix of employees that get together to discuss what is being asked.  Their job is to evaluate the suggestions and make sure that it is in the best interest of the customer’s as well as the interest of the company.  If you think about it realistically, companies are in business to make money. But, without the customer’s, they will not have a business to run. So it is extremely important to listen to all of our customers in order to deliver the best customer experience possible.

  I love working here at WOW! and our customers seem to enjoy the service too. Have I mentioned lately that WOW! just keeps winning awards for customer service?

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Is the Grass Ever Greener?

In: Customer Experience & Support

By: Bill Wright on Sep 30, 2010 at 9:01 am

  Have you ever called a call center because you were just so happy with the service, you had to tell them? My guess would be probably not.  Working in a call center is a pretty tough place to work, if you really think about it. Calls from angry consumers, upset that their service is not working the way they want. Or the customer’s that are having a hard time paying their bill, due to whatever reason.  I would say that most people, when deciding on a career, would not choose a call center in their top ten.

 The industry standard “attrition rate” (Percentage rate at which something is lost, or is reduced by, over a period.), from what I have read, a typical call centers attrition could be somewhere around 50% -100%. That means other call center will have to hire continuously to make sure they are staffed appropriately. This creates a less experienced employee. So, when a customer calls in, they are put on hold more and the calls take longer to resolve.

 So, is the grass any greener at WOW!? I would have to say, yes. The WOW! call centers attrition is around 30%, for one. Why is that? Well, I am glad you asked. It is the culture, the environment and the people in general in and around the call center. A good amount of the employees have been here over 4 years which is incredible for a call center. Remember what I said about the less experienced employee? Your calls at WOW! are handled quickly and efficiently. I have seen quite a few employees come and return. And that is because WOW! is the better place to work. Trust me! I have been with WOW! almost 10 years starting out as a customer care agent. WOW! takes great care of their employees. Take a look at what the industry is saying about us now:

http://www.cable360.net/cablefaxmag/diversity/Cable-Fax-2010-Top-10-Places-to-Work-in-Cable_43006.html

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WOW! Evansville Wins Integrity Award

In: Culture

By: Pam Juncker on Sep 21, 2010 at 8:00 am

Recently, the WOW! operation region located in Evansville, Indiana was awarded the 2010 BBB Business of Integrity Torch Award.  The award is presented by the Vanderburgh County Better Business  Bureau to companies that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to exceptional standards in relationships with their consumers, employees, suppliers, competitors, shareholders and communities.

The BBB Business of Integrity Torch Award recipients illuminate the importance of corporate conscience and responsibility to uphold a fair and honest marketplace.

At WOW!, we have long asserted that the products we offer can be copied from one provider to another. For us, the only meaningful and substantial differentiator in a competitive environment is our people – their minds, their attitudes and their unique contributions. What makes WOW! successful is our shared passion and commitment toward our Operating Philosophy:  To deliver an employee and customer experience that lives up to our name.  Yes, “employee” precedes “customer” …not because we value one over the other, but because we know inherently that if we develop, care for and serve one another, our customers will be taken care of in turn – therein creating the type of employee and customer experience that breeds a level of loyalty unheard of in the industry.

We believe wholeheartedly that the success of our company rests on the passion and commitment of our employees to uphold this philosophy, in a manner consistent with our core values of Respect, Integrity, Accountability and Servanthood.  These values are the foundation upon which our company is built:

Respect:  Treat others as you wish to be treated
Integrity:    Choose correctly between right and wrong
Accountability:   Own your part of any situation; work toward a solution
Servanthood: Embrace the attitude and honor of serving others rather than being served

We have zero tolerance for purposefully violating any one of these four core values. This is critical in order to stress that performance must be attained the right way and not at all-or-any-cost. It’s not enough to simply care for employees’ basic needs to earn a competitive salary, access benefits and work in a safe environment. We’ve created a culture that cherishes and seeks to nourish the human spirit. Therefore our values are not merely words to us; we also use them as a compass with which to guide decisions about what’s right for the business, so our culture is supported both rationally and emotionally in pursuit of our operating philosophy.

As a result, every year WOW! enjoys continuous growth and industry-leading performance, and consistently earns awards and recognition for outstanding employee and customer satisfaction.  With this most recent Evansville award for being a ‘Business of Integrity,’ we take the opportunity to thank our employees and our customers for the opportunity to serve.

Evansville Team Accepts Integrity Award

Evansville Team Accepts Integrity Award

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The Little Cable Company That Could

In: Blog, Culture

By: Sherry Zachary on Aug 10, 2010 at 8:00 am

Once upon a time (2001) there was a little cable company with about 60 employees that decided to try and climb the hill of success… in spite of a fiercely competitive market with companies that had much, MUCH bigger engines.  This little cable company called WOW! said to themselves, ‘We think we can, we think we can… if we can just live up to our name.’

In their first year of business they added internet service to their video products and started hiring and training employees to deliver a ‘memorable experience.’  Lo and behold, many residents started to switch to WOW!.  Encouraged by the progress, the little cable company started hiring even more people who held the same core values:  Respect, Integrity, Accountability and Servanthood.  Business became brisk! 

Much to the little cable company’s surprise a large percentage of their NEW customers were a direct result of their CURRENT customers sharing their happy, positive experiences.  The company invited their customers to ‘refer-a-friend’ and continued their focus on exceptional service.  The little cable company was proud to have employees who made such a good impression, so they made a steady practice of recognizing and rewarding their employees’ outstanding performances.  They shared out the annual profits with everyone who worked there.

One day, a customer wrote a complimentary letter that talked about how the little cable company had ‘WOW’ed her’ and POOF! the WOW! Moment was born.  Now the little cable company focused on providing WOW! Moments for their customers and for each other.  The little cable company added phone as a third primary service, and kept chugging along, hiring really good people with strong, service-oriented values. 

Eventually this little cable company grew to be 1300 strong.  Over the years they won customer satisfaction awards from famous sources like JD Power and Associates, PC Magazine and Consumer Reports.  But the little cable company didn’t take this for granted.  Not at all.  Always mindful of the bigger engines making noise on the tracks, the little cable company taught its employees that it was an honor and a privilege to serve others.  The employees embraced this philosophy and always tried to leave their customers smiling.

Today, the little cable company is planning for its future by looking at the next hill and being fueled by appreciation for everyone who contributes to its success.  ‘We think we can, we think we can… ’  As long as we keep our sense of appreciation and stay focused on WOW! Moments, the next hill will never be too big to climb.

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The Things About Spring… WOW! Award Nominations

In: Culture

By: Sherry Zachary on Apr 13, 2010 at 7:48 am

Ahhhh, Spring.  If you live in state that has a real Winter – that is at least two feet of snow per year and temperatures ranging steadily from 0 to 35 degrees for three months – then you know what it feels like to truly enjoy the first signs of Spring.  Some of the Spring things I love?  Crocuses and daffodils poking through the ground, bravely surviving the last snowfalls of winter, robins chirping cheerily at the crack of dawn – so early that humans can’t distinguish the 2-candlewatt difference of early morning light that sets them off, and the earthy smell of worms as they get flooded to the surface with persistent springtime rain, inching their way onto sidewalks and driveways with hopes of surviving until the ground is less saturated.

I live in a state that has a real Winter, and I know how the signs of Spring make me feel every year – energized and optimistic, and yes, just a touch sentimental.  While Fall is my favorite season, Spring has its own unique influence on me.  One of the Spring things I like best is reading the nominations OF our employees, BY our employees for our semi-annual WOW! Awards.  This opportunity reminds me all over again why I love working at WOW!.

The WOW! Awards program runs in the Spring and the Fall and employees from all over the company nominate each other for special recognition in one of five categories:
• Courage Award:  An employee who takes risk, exemplifying a learning culture
• Most Valuable Contribution Award:  An employee’s idea or effort that positively impacts the business
• Outstanding Performer Award:  A role model who exceeds expectations
• Spirit Award:  An employee who exemplifies our core values and culture
• Serve-with-Heart Award:  An employee living core values outside of work; giving back, helping others

It’s a big deal to win one of these awards, really big!  The five winners fly to Denver with a spouse or guest, have a fancy dinner with the executive team, receive $250 and a plaque, then they stay for the weekend and enjoy whatever Colorado leisure or sightseeing activities interest them most.

So, as I said, I get to see all of the nominations in my region because I’m part of the HR department and one of the approvers of award submissions.  This Spring we had 24 nominations for 19 different employees in the region.  I wish I could share with you some of the heartfelt appreciation, proud recognition, and candid admiration that the nominators express as they describe why THEIR nominees deserve to win.  (I’m really glad I’m not one of the judges for these awards – what a wonderful, horrible job they have narrowing 100+ nominations down to five winners!)

The Sentimental Spring Me reads these awards with pride and affection.  The Energized, Optimistic Spring Me realizes all over again that without a culture that emphasizes Respect, Integrity, Accountability and Servanthood, employees wouldn’t even bother to write up such nominations… much less would we have employees whose performances, behaviors and internal characters so richly deserve them.

Springtime Optimism!

Springtime Optimism!

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